''From A to Z'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

with a book by

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

, Herbert Farjeon, and Nina Warner Hook and songs by

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyrici ...

Fred Ebb Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Riv ...

Mary Rodgers Mary Rodgers (January 11, 1931 – June 26, 2014) was an American composer, screenwriter, and author who wrote the novel '' Freaky Friday'', which served as the basis of a 1976 film starring Jodie Foster, for which she wrote the screenplay, as ...

Everett Sloane Everett H. Sloane (October 1, 1909 – August 6, 1965) was an American character actor who worked in radio, theatre, films, and television. Early life Sloane was born in Manhattan on October 1, 1909, to Nathaniel I. Sloane and Rose (Gerst ...

, Jay Thompson, Dickson Hughes, Jack Holmes, Paul Klein, Norman Martin, William Dyer, and

Charles Zwar Charles Zwar (10 April 1911 – 2 December 1989) was an Australian songwriter, composer, lyricist, pianist and music director who was largely associated with the British revue and musical comedy industries between the late-1930s and 1960s. Life a ...

Background

Hermione Gingold Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold (; 9 December 189724 May 1987) was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric character. Her signature drawling, deep voice was a result of nodules on her vocal cords she developed in the 1920s and e ...

was asked to appear in a revue on Broadway by millionaires (and producers) Carroll Masterson and Harris Masterson and she asked her friend,

Christopher Hewett Christopher George Hewett (5 April 1921 – 3 August 2001) was an English actor and theatre director best known for his role as Lynn Aloysius Belvedere on the ABC sitcom ''Mr. Belvedere''. Career Hewett was born in Worthing, Sussex to Chris ...

to direct. Hewitt in turn recruited some of the cast and crew from Tamiment (an entertainment camp run in the summer), including the young

Jonathan Tunick Jonathan Tunick (born April 19, 1938, New York City) is an American orchestrator, musical director, and composer, and one of seventeen " EGOTs" - people to have won all four major American showbusiness awards: the Tony Awards, Academy Awards, Em ...

, then a

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

student, as co-orchestrator with Jay Brower.Suskin, Steven.
" 'From A to Z' "
''The Sound of Broadway Music: A Book of Orchestrators and Orchestrations'' (2009)(books.google.com), Oxford University Press, , p.393

Production

The revue had its out-of-town tryout at the Shubert Theatre,

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, Connecticut starting on March 26. ''From A to Z'' opened on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the Plymouth Theatre on April 20, 1960 and closed on May 7, 1960 after 21 performances. Directed by Christopher Hewett and choreographed by Ray Harrison, the cast included Hermione Gingold,

Stuart Damon Stuart Damon (born Stuart Michael Zonis; February 5, 1937 June 29, 2021) was an American actor and singer. He was best known for his 30-year portrayal of Dr. Alan Quartermaine on the American soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he won an ...

Bob Dishy Bob Dishy is an American actor of stage, film, and television. Biography He is best remembered today for playing Sergeant John J. Wilson, Columbo's polite, respectful assistant in two episodes of ''Columbo'' ("Now You See Him" and "The Greenho ...

, Larry Hovis,

Virginia Vestoff Virginia Vestoff (December 9, 1939 – May 2, 1982) was an American actress of film, television and Broadway. Early life Vestoff was born into a family of vaudeville performers in New York City. Both her Russian immigrant father and mother, wh ...

, Alvin Epstein and Paula Stewart.Atkinson, Brooks. "Hermione Gingold Seen in Revue at Plymouth", ''The New York Times'', April 21, 1960, p. 23 Although a critical and commercial failure, the show is notable in that it marked the Broadway debuts of writer Allen, lyricist Ebb, composer Herman, ("Also making their mainstream debuts: Fred Ebb and Woody Allen.") and performer Virginia Vestoff.

Plot overview

In one sketch, Gingold and Epstein played two wealthy hypochondriacs who compare their X-rays.

Songs

;Act 1 *Best Gold - music and lyrics by Jerry Herman *Pill Parade - music and lyrics by Jay Thompson *Togetherness - music and lyrics by Dickson Hughes and Everett Sloane *Balloons - music and lyrics by Jack Holmes *Hire a Guy - music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer *Interlude - music and lyrics by Jack Holmes *I Said to Love - music by Paul Klein, lyrics by Fred Ebb *Charlie - music and lyrics by Fred Ebb and Norman Martin *The Sound of Schmaltz - music by William Dyer, lyrics by Don Parks ;Act 2 *Grand Jury Jump - music by Paul Klein, lyrics by Fred Ebb *South American Way - music by Norman Martin, lyrics by Norman Martin and Fred Ebb *Time Step - music by Paul Klein, lyrics by Fred Ebb *Red Shoes - music by Jack Holmes *Four for the Road - music by Paul Klein, lyrics by Lee Goldsmith and Fred Ebb *What Next? - music by Charles Zwar, lyrics by Alan Melville

Reception

Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for '' The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of hi ...

in his ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' review noted that "There is no official writer; there is no house composer. Perhaps this is the reason the revue represents no point of view... Gingold is a comic of vast self-assurance who has very little variety." Atkinson praised the scenery and costumes ("Mr. Voelpel's costumes are also superb") and the performances of Alvin Epstein and Paula Stewart. In its review roundup, ''The New York Times'' reported that "Only John McClain of the '' Journal-American'' gave hearty support to this new revue starring Hermione Gingold." The '' Billboard'' reviewer noted that Gingold "displayed much keen sense of comedy; but one bright artist cannot make the production .... the scenes were not very titillating .... Musically, the individual songs were not distinctive."Ackerman, Paul.
" 'A to Z' Runs Mediocre Gamut"
''Billboard Magazine'', (books.google.com), ISSN 0006-2510, April 25, 1960, p.21

References

External links

* {{Woody Allen 1960 musicals Broadway musicals Revues Plays by Woody Allen